Collar stiffener



- May 9 1 E. S. YQUNGLM 3 31 ,498

COLLAR STIFFENER Filed Aug. 2, 1965 United States Patent 3,318,498 COLLAR STIFFENER Elsie Stein Younglove, 4431 Miami, St. Louis, Mo. 63116 Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,409 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-83) This invention relates to a. collar form and more specifically to a type of collar form which is reusable as distinguished from presently common disposable types. There has been a long-standing need for an inexpensive, universally adaptable, and easily utilized collar form. Particularly in the home, there has been a need for a reusable collar form which may be used as an adjunct in laundering and which also is usable in garments which are hung for storage as well as those garments which are folded for storage.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive collar form which is reusable.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a collar form which may be used on garments which are hung for storage as well as those which are folded for storage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collar form which is substantially universally adjustable so as to allow its use with garment collars of disparate sizes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collar form which may be inexpensively die cut from raw material in strip form with little or no Waste.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collar form which is nearly foolproof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collar form which is long-lasting in its reusable form.

Other objects will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description and accompanying drawing.

In accordance with this invention, generally stated, a collar form is provided in the form of an elongate strip of stiflly flexible material of such dimensions .as to fit within the fold of a collar of the greatest size anticipated. One end of the strip is rounded. Near its other end, the form is provided with gripping means integral with the strip and so formed that the rounded end may be received by the gripping means and the strip is slidably but securely held by the gripping means. In every position of the strip within the gripping means, the form assumes a shape complementary to that of a collar.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a collar form of this invention with a center section broken out, before assembly;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of a collar form of this invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a shirt with the collar form of FIGURES 1 and 2 in place under the collar.

Referring now to the drawings for one illustrative embodiment of collar form of this invention, reference numeral 1 indicates a stifliy flexible elongate stri with parallel long sides 10, a rounded end 2 and a squared end 3. Near the squared end 3, the strip has a pair of facing semi-circular cuts 4 each of Which has a hole 5 at each end. The cuts 4 and holes 5 define lips 6.

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The material of which the form is made is of importance. In the preferred embodiment shown, the form is made of so-called rigid polyvinyl plastic sheet, fifteen thou-andths of an inch thick. This sheet is flexible in that the strip made from it can be bent to the shape shown in FIGURE 2 with no difliculty, and will spring back flat Without deformation when it is disassembled, but it is stiff in its short dimension, and holds the shape shown in FIGURE 2 in use. Other, tough, stifily flexible, waterimpervious, slick, stable plastic sheets can be used, such as forms of polyethylene sheet, for example.

In the use of a collar form of this invention, strip 1 is inserted under the fold of the collar of a garment with the two free ends projecting from the front of the collar. Rounded end 2 is then inserted under and between lips 6 which slidably grip the edges of the long sides 10 of the strip with such force that the size of the collar form may be adjusted by manually pulling the strip farther through lips 6 but it will stay in whatever adjusted position it is until manually moved. It will be observed that the strip 1, being flat, may be inexpensively die cut from a sheet.

The function of holes 5 is to relieve strain on the ends of cuts 4, to provide clearance for the strip edges, to leave no salient angle which might otherwise form a locus for tearing of strip 1 at the ends of cuts 4, and, importantly, to contribute to the effective gripping of the strip. The function of the rounded end 2 is to facilitate insertion under lips 6 without the necessity for perfect alignment, to eliminate binding as end 2 passes under lips 6 and to reduce the chance of cutting or tearing the strip material at the holes 5.

While in the preferred embodiment cuts 4 and holes 5 are positioned so as to grip end 2 at right angles to end 3, small variations in this angular relationship in the gripped position are possible.

Purely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, the following dimensions have been found to be highly satisfactory:

Inches Length of strip 1 21% Width of strip 1 1% Distance from the edge 3 to the center of the nearest holes 5 /2 Radius of cuts 4 Distance between cuts 4 at nearest point Diameter of holes 5 /s Clearance Ibetween longitudinally opposite holes 5-- 1% Thickness of strip 1 .015

A collar form of these dimensions can be used with shirts ranging in size from boys size 4 to and including mens size 17, as well as With womens blouses and shirts.

Changes in and modification of the construction described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A unitary collar form comprising a flat elongate strip of stifliy flexible, water-impervious, slick, tough plastic, said strip having parallel long sides, and slidably gripping means integral with said strip extending from the plane of the strip from one fiat surf-ace of the strip and disposed nearan end thereof, said gripping means slidably gripping said strip, said gripping means including spaced apart lip means in the vicinity of the other end, the two ends being superposed and crossing one another at substantially right angles.

2. The unitary collar form of claim 1 wherein the slidably gripping lip means comprise two facing semi circular lips defined by cuts provided with relief holes at References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Brigance 2420 Wordingham 22383 Calder 22383 Noojin et al. 22383 Wachtel 22383 Hoadley 2416 the ends of said cuts, each of said lips being tangenhal 10 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

at its facing center point to a line drawn substantially at right angles to said parallel long sides. 

1. A UNITARY COLLAR FORM COMPRISING A FLAT ELONGATE STRIP OF STIFFY FLEXIBLE, WATER-IMPERVIOUS, SLICK, TOUGH PLASTIC, SAID STRIP HAVING PARALLEL LONG SIDES, AND SLIDABLY GRIPPING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID STRIP EXTENDING FROM THE PLANE OF THE STRIP FROM ONE FLAT SURFACE OF THE STRIP AND DISPOSED NEAR AN END THEREOF, SAID GRIPPING MEANS SLIDABLY GRIPPING SAID STRIP, SAID GRIPPING MEANS INCLUDING SPACED APART LIP MEANS IN THE VICINITY OF THE OTHER END, THE TWO ENDS BEING SUPERPOSED AND CROSSING ONE ANOTHER AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES. 